Choices........

 Part 1

The woman made it clear right up front, she would only help me by taking horses if they were of her choosing. In addition she must have the signed registration papers in her hand before she ever loaded horses on her trailer.

To somehow reinforce this was a reasonable request as well as assuring I understood the only way she would come to my assistance, she told me  Irwin Schimmel of Prestige Arabians in Oregon always allows her to choose whatever horses she wants when he gives horses to her.

Don't ask me why her use of Schimmel's name in this manner carried weight with me but it did. All sanity was gone from my thought process, I guess, because in hindsight I can tell you how ludicrous this sounds. I doubt a man like Schimmel has ever allowed her to choose from his entire herd whatever horses she wanted to claim. Everything I know of him says he's a better businessman than that, yet I allowed that argument to convince me she was being reasonable. Guess that shows I sick I was.

Even as I write this I find it difficult to explain how this happened to me. It is not something I ever would have imagined could happen. I am a smart, well educated woman with plenty of useful life skills, so how did this woman convince me my horses were in trouble in the first place when they were not? Let alone justify her choosing her pick from my entire herd to claim for her own for absolutely free?

At the time I didn't think about how outlandish this all was. What I thought about was the old mare that needed weight and that the others were not far behind her according to this woman. Not understanding what the problem was with my horses, all I could think about was what I must do to make it right by them....all of them.

This  woman professed to be motivated only by caring for me and my horses,  and she insisted she could be trusted to know what was best for my family, me and my horses.  She had her hand out to help me and I was convinced I needed it.  I was being feed the only appropriate thing for me to do was give my horses away and she was the right person to help me get that done and I bought her line hook, line and sinker.

Whenever I hear people say what they would do in dire circumstances, I think their projections are nothing more than guesses. Many times when confronted with the reality, people choose something totally different,  and more likely self indulgent, than the road they think they would take.

I have always said, I would give my horses away before I would ever allow them to be neglected in anyway. After this experience I can tell you, I most certainly would do exactly what I say. My horses were in fact not at risk but this unscrupulous woman convinced me that they were so I gave her what she wanted thinking I was protecting my horses.

The horses she selected were the half arabian colt I had bred for reining, Scandalous Mr Goodbar, know as Doc and Bint Gamaay Rose, barn name Lucy. The woman claimed she could envision the mare in crossties swarmed by little girls braiding her mane and tail so that is why she wanted her. Doc was not as specific, just something about him spoke to her.

When I heard her choices my heart sank and my stomach rolled. I bred Doc specifically for myself. It was never my intention to part with him. He is Dare's first foal and Solidare's first grandbaby. . Rarely have I breed a horse specifically for me, twice actually, Dandy and Doc. Visions of training Doc someday for our reining career had given me something to hang onto during dark hospital times.

I have written about Lucy. I wanted her from the day I first saw her as a foal. It took me years to claim her as my own. She is the most inquired about horse I own and she isn't even on my sales list.
I have only been able to breed her once so I still have big dreams tied to her as well.

This woman couldn't have taken anymore direct hit on my heart than convincing me my horses were in trouble, followed by choosing these two. It was only much later that I realized she had chosen the two most salable horses I owned. Was it coincidence or part of her plan?

To be continued.......

Goodbyes.........

This story is not over. Unfortunately, it is just beginning. Questions?  Some have been posted already and there are probably others. I will try to post answers this weekend.